The present invention is directed to a medical information log system, and more particularly to advanced features in a surgical operative log system.
The ReSOLution package from Information Science Associates (ISA) is a DOS based program created specifically for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and Residency Review Committee (RRC) for surgery. The program is not network compatible, is not cross-platform capable, and does not incorporate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) menus or coding for forms for the American College of Surgeons (ACS). CPT is a standard numerical coding scheme. Its specific advantage is that it can download information directly to ACGME/RRC reporting diskettes which are the required method of reporting operative data by surgical residents and surgical training programs to the ACGME and RCC.
Summit from Summit Medical is a specific package for tracking pre, peri, and post operative variables, as well as outcomes for cardiothoracic surgery. While fairly comprehensive, its specific disadvantages are that it is expensive, not cross-platform capable, and does not address the specific needs of cardiothoracic residents. Specifically, it does not attempt to assist cardiothoracic surgery residents with completing required forms for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery certification (ABTS--the RCC equivalent for cardiothoracic surgery).
The TRACS package was designed specifically to track trauma and, to a less extent, critical care patients on surgical services. This package does not do coding for the RRC or the ACS, and does not cover any areas of General Surgery other than trauma, let alone other surgical specialties.
Surgical Procedure Log.TM. (SPL) from Medical Software Solutions, Inc. is a member of the FileMaker Database market. Databases were created in FileMaker Pro, and these databases were applied to multiple specialties. FileMaker has major problems when dealing with large databases. For example, the current FileMaker version does not support files larger than 32 MByte (about 32K operations). In addition, SPL does not incorporate ACS coding forms.
The package from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) includes a program written in FoxPro (Windows version only) limited to general cancer database (outcomes package). This is not an operative log, and it does not generate RRC, ACS, or similar reports.
VascuBase for Vascular Surgeons from Consensus Medical Systems, Inc. is a surgical log and outcomes package for vascular surgeons only. This package includes statistics and some graphics, but it does not generate report forms for residents for the RRC. Thus, this package is limited by specialty and directed at practicing surgeons, but not surgeons in training (residents).
Most surgical log systems are for full departments only. Thus, a system for either a full department or individual use is needed. Additionally, a system which functions across multiple specialties is desirable.